Rooibos' Story

We, here at Annique Australia, are happy and fortunate to be able to bring you these unique products. For the past 13 years we have been able to share these unique product ranges, specially designed for the harsh southern hemisphere conditions, with you. Many products, which are from Europe or North America, have been designed for the northern hemisphere “skins”. So often we are sold and use products that do not suit our skin or the dry Australian conditions we live in and then we wonder why they do not work for us or why we do not see any results! Annique is a must for Australia.

This is how it all began 45 years ago .......1968 an amazing discovery!

Dr. Annique Theron stumbled on the natural healing powers of Rooibos when, one sunny April morning in 1968, she warmed her allergic baby's bottle with warm Rooibos tea. Annique was amazed at the instant calming, soothing and healing effect it had on her baby daughter of fourteen months, Lorinda. Annique set out to investigate this tea's healing potential and found she stood alone in her discovery of its anti-allergic qualities.

However, she soon found hundreds of mothers with similar problems varying from food allergies to eczema, insomnia and hyperactivity in their babies and children. Annique published her findings about allergies in children and adults in her book: "Allergies: An Amazing Discovery" Help for adults and babies Rooibos tea has been a trusted remedy for the last three decades among South African mothers. Now Rooibos' miraculous properties to cure and soothe are backed not only by scientific research and international recognition, but also by thirty years of mothers' hands-on experience

So while Rooibos can't be said to reverse the ageing process, it can be said to promote your health. And it certainly acts as a strong ally in the cause to prevent some life-shortening ailments and diseases.

Revealing research In the 1980's Japanese and American scientists found a powerful and stable antioxidant called super-oxide dismutase in Rooibos tea. In 1995 Infruitec, a South African research company, as well as Dr. Charlene Marais of the University of the Free State, found and verified that Rooibos tea did indeed have the following properties:

Anti-allergic;

Anti-spasmodic;

Anti-bacterial;

Anti-ageing;

Anti-viral;

Antioxidant; and

No caffeine, and low tannin.

"One of the most reliable methods of soothing baby both internally and externally."A Cure for Crybabies At the 1997 International Inventions Exhibition in Geneva, Annique Theron was honored with a gold medal for the discovery of Rooibos Tea's anti-allergic properties.Because of its natural soothing and calming powers, by replacing the water in the bottle feed with Rooibos Herbal Tea, your baby remains silent and content. Benefiting from better digestion, and deep, untroubled sleep.Powers revealed With so many health-promoting properties, it's easy to see why the world's doctors are starting to take serious note of Rooibos Tea's potential. As more and more cases of its successes come to light, even depression and nervous conditions are falling under its soothing herbal umbrella.

Rooibos Connection

Thank you Dr Theron for making the Rooibos Connection! 31 July 2015

Dr Theron was born on 18 April 1929 in Limpopo. She grew up on a small-town farm, which her family sadly lost when she was only a young girl. Determined to leave this traumatic experience behind, Dr Theron studied and moved to Pretoria where she met her husband, Meiring and started a family with him. Even though Dr Theron wanted to start her own business, female entrepreneurs were mostly unheard of in the 60s and 70s, but her desire was also her destiny. She would eventually become one of the greatest entrepreneurs of South Africa, thanks to the then underrated Rooibos plant.

A ground-breaking discovery

The day that changed my life forever, was Monday, 8 April 1968. On that day, as often before in my life, I would take 'a road less travelled by'.

Lorinda, my youngest child, suffered from colic and cried incessantly from pain. Due to that I never gave the baby cold milk to drink. I always warmed up the bottle- feed. On that momentous day, in order to warm up the milk speedily, I added freshly brewed rooibos tea to the baby’s bottle-feed - a tea I had grown up with since I was a little girl, growing up on a farm in Botswana. For the first time since her birth, the baby slept peacefully for more than three hours. In the ensuing hours I realised that I had actually stumbled upon a possible miracle. My baby did not only sleep better; on waking up she had also stopped vomiting and cried less.

Thanks to my own baby’s recovery, I could come to the conclusion that I actually had made a breakthrough when I stumbled onto the discovery that rooibos tea (Aspalathus linearis) has therapeutic value for allergy-sufferers. “The discovery of the rooibos tea benefit determined my direction in life,” I firmly believed.

To make sure I have indeed stumbled onto a miracle by adding rooibos tea to my baby’s bottle feed, I did some power thinking by asking myself and those I questioned about my so-called discovery by asking the following questions, e.g. WHAT, WHY, WHEN, WHERE, HOW, and WHO? The answers I received gave me some inkling of the road I was destined to follow…

I will tell this with a sigh,Somewhere ages and ages hence;Two roads in a wood diverged, and I; I took the one less-travelled by –And that has made all the difference…

Due to a lack of interest from a scientific point of view at the time, I realised I had to do research on the therapeutic value of the tea myself. Very soon after the discovery I committed myself to the daunting task of alleviating the various allergic reactions, like vomiting, colic, sleeplessness, eczema, ear infections, hay fever and many others in order to verify my findings. In the process I have over the years not only been saving babies but also promoted rooibos tea. Helping these babies, saving these babies now already for more than 45 years, became my mission in life.

My discovery also revived an ailing industry since I relentlessly promoted the benefits of rooibos tea all over the world. Today rooibos tea “has been elevated to the ranks of ‘Royal Albert’ porcelain and is being used with relish in palaces and embassies, five star hotels and luxury homes all over the world”. It was a product once maligned; but now revered as one of exceptional quality and taste, delivering all I have promised it to be all of these years.

In 1997 my discovery earned me two golden medals from the World Intellectual Property Organization during the International Inventions Exhibition in Geneva, where I was honoured as Best Female Inventor of the Year. In 1989, when I was 60, local business women bestowed on me the coveted Entrepreneur of the Year Award. I have also received a number of other awards for my work over the years to help babies and adults suffering from allergies and my contributions to wealth creation in the country.

I also documented my findings in Allergies, an amazing discovery which was reprinted four times. In a recent article in the European magazine, Euro Cosmetics, the benefits of rooibos tea were praised by the researchers, Dr Jane Tiedtke and Dr Olaf Marks, who also praised and acknowledged Dr Theron’s contribution in the field. In The New “White Tea” for Hair and Skin Care they explain how the ingredients of rooibos tea can be used internally and externally for stomach and digestive disorders, allergies such as hay fever and asthma, skin problems such as eczema, acne and nappy rash, nervous and sleep disorders, while it also combats the effects of aging and even hair loss. The first human clinical trials, led by Jeanine L. Marnewick, senior researcher from the Oxidative Stress Research Centre at the Cape Peninsula University, were held recently to establish whether rooibos tea can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular Week reported preliminary positive results for tests on 40 individuals with high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Dr Theron checks the quality of some of the new products she launched (1986)

I launched the forerunner of the Annique health and beauty products in 1973, with a slimming product called Wonder Slim. Five years later I launched the first three products of my skin-care series. By 1981 my business has grown to such an extent that I decided to share the benefits of my lucrative business with others. That was the perfect recipe for women to become independent in their efforts to create wealth for their families. This was so successful that today there are quite a number of her top achievers who earn more out of my business than myself. Through the years my business has on a regular basis created jobs for women to this day. The total number of women at present is more than 15,000+. The company also employs a huge number of permanent staff members and today there are more than 200 products on the market.

As a mother of four, grandmother of seven and the founder of a family business, I was honoured by the Centurion Chamber of Commerce with the prestigious Centurion of the Year award, because I have contributed over a number of years to the local industry and communities. Recognition was also given to me for outstanding business service delivery and unselfish contributions to goodwill organisations, leading to the upliftment and the creation of awareness of Centurion and its community. I am also one of the patrons of the Ambassadors Business Support Network, a forum that aims to provide a platform for businesses and the diplomatic core and government to explore unique opportunities.

No matter what age a person is, life can be wonderful. During a recent function, where I was a guest of honour, I caused the audience to explode into appreciative applause with some inspiring words: “At 86 I’m in the prime of my life, having the time of my life!”